Student stabbed to death at Connecticut high school

Saturday

Apr 26, 2014 at 8:17 AMApr 26, 2014 at 8:22 AM

MILFORD, Conn. — A 16-year-old Connecticut high school student was stabbed to death Friday morning, and police are investigating whether the 16-year-old male who is suspected of killing her had wanted to take her to the prom, which was scheduled for Friday night.

David Owens, Hilda Munoz, Savannah Mul and Matthew Kauffman

MILFORD, Conn. — A 16-year-old Connecticut high school student was stabbed to death Friday morning, and police are investigating whether the 16-year-old male who is suspected of killing her had wanted to take her to the prom, which was scheduled for Friday night.

Jonathan Law High School junior Maren Sanchez was killed in a hallway at the school.

The suspect, also a junior at the school, was charged as a juvenile offender with murder. His name is being withheld because he is a minor, police said.

“The unexpected and sudden loss of our beloved family member Maren Victoria Sanchez is both shocking and devastating,” said her cousin, Edward Kovac of Easton. “Maren should be celebrating at her prom this evening with her friends and classmates. Instead we are mourning her death and we are trying as a community to understand this senseless loss of life.”

The victim lived with her mother, Donna Cimarelli-Sanchez.

Milford Police Chief Keith Mello said the assault happened around 7:15 a.m. in a hallway inside Jonathan Law High School. A staff member witnessed part of the assault, he said, and tried to help. Others joined the effort, and EMS personnel soon arrived to take Sanchez to Bridgeport Hospital. She was pronounced dead at 7:43 a.m., Mello said.

“There was blood on her neck. It was awful,” said Sam Garcia, a junior at the school, as he walked home. “I saw the girl lying on the stretcher when they took her out.”

Police said Sanchez suffered multiple lacerations to her neck, chest and face. Investigators recovered a knife at the scene.

A Jonathan Law senior, Rebecca Golden, said she was on the stairs when she looked down and saw someone on the floor. She said she could only see the legs and thought it was a boy. Several teachers were there and one of them was crying and hysterical, she said.

“I tried to look but they just pushed me out,” Golden said.

Counselors were at the school to help students deal with the tragedy and a banner was hung where students could share their memories of Sanchez.

Sanchez was a talented singer and performed “Home” by Philip Phillips at a school talent show last school year. A video of her performance is on YouTube.

Outside the school, students, teachers and others gathered to paint a rock purple and to paint Maren's name and her birth date, Aug. 26, 1997. They also painted a large white heart on the rock.

Students who were acquainted with the alleged attacker said there was no sign he could be violent. Several different people said he was an average student who had friends.

The suspect will be arraigned in juvenile court in New Haven on Monday. Authorities will determine whether the case is transferred to adult court.

The junior prom was set to begin at a banquet hall in nearby Stratford at 7 p.m. Officials said the event will be rescheduled. Sanchez posted a picture of herself in her prom dress on the JLHS Prom Dresses 2014 Facebook group page on March 3.

Mello said he had heard rumors that that Sanchez had declined an invitation to the prom from the suspect, but he could not confirm whether that was the case.

Superintendent of Schools Dr. Elizabeth Feser said Sanchez was a very active student.

“She was an athlete, she was in the National Honor Society. She helped out with other athletic teams. She was very well respected and liked,” Feser said.

Counselors and staff will be on hand through the weekend for any students, staff, alumni or community members in need of support, Feser said.

“Maren is a class act. She is everything you would want your daughter to turn out like. A perfect role model for all around her,” said Melanie Paolini, an athletic coach at Jonathan Law, where Maren was manager of the swim team and softball team.

In addition to athletics, Paolini said Maren was an honor student and involved in school musical productions and the Key Club, a community-service group.

“She is a friend to everyone, regardless of social group,” Paolino said. “She has touched many lives and I am proud to say she is part of my swimming and softball family at Jonathan Law High school.”

Chris Kulenych, an English and broadcast journalism teacher at Jonathan Law who coaches girls' tennis, said he knew Sanchez “because she was involved in so many different things.”

Kulenych said Sanchez was often a guest on the student news television broadcast for the different activities she was involved in at the high school.

“She did everything — people knew her that way,” Kulenych said. “Today was just devastating.”

Feser said earlier Friday that Sanchez was also involved in the drama club.

“She was someone who was loved and respected by her peers,” Feser said.

About 200 people came out for the vigil held for Sanchez at Walnut Beach in Milford, Friday night. Some students came dressed in their prom dresses and tuxedos to remember Sanchez on what was supposed to be their junior prom night.

Senior Cindy Lill said that students came dressed in their gowns because Sanchez would have wanted for her classmates to have fun.

She said students spoke out at the vigil on why they loved her so much.

Students cried and shouted out words together that described Sanchez, such as “kind-hearted” and “best friend.”

They also released purple, star shaped balloons into the sky, saying “Love you, Maren.”

Students walked over to the boardwalk after the balloons were released and shouted out Sanchez' name into the distance.

Milford Mayor Benjamin G. Blake issued a statement Friday afternoon in which he said “Our hearts go out to the family of Maren Sanchez … and to those also affected by this tragedy. I would like to assure all residents of Milford that today's incident was an isolated event. … Jonathan Law High School will be open and counseling services will be available throughout the weekend. I encourage students, staff, alumni and members of the community to take advantage of these resources.”

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